WHAT'S HOT & WHAT'S NOT

We just got back from a busy market in Atlanta and have found many great treasures you will have to have! And at each market we find out what is hot for the new year and what is out. The following is our list of what will be in for 2009:

What's In:

Monograms, Inspirational Gifts, Scarves, Aprons, Traditional Prints, Spectacular Serving Pieces like Arthur Court Designs, Unique Lamps with Interesting Shades, Vintage Looks in Distressed Wood and Iron, Mercury Glass, Recycled Glass, Owls, Penguins, Fragrance Diffusers, Rustic Glamour, Mixing Styles and Periods, All Shades of Green, Black/White/Silver, Copper, Nature Themes, Luxury Soaps and Lotions, Made in USA.

What's Out:

Flip Flops, Vera Bradley Bags, Jar Candles, Printed T-Shirts, Fake Looking Flowers, Giraffe and Zebra Print Bags, Muddy Earth Tones, Victorian Themes, Boring Lamps, Cheaply Made Accessories, Cheap Imports, Primitive Themes, Matchy-Matchy , Imports.

This will be a year to pamper yourself with affordable luxuries. We have a wonderful collection of soaps, lotions, fragrance diffusers, delectable gourmet treats, and soothing Cd's to help you relax in luxury. We also are going back to what we know we do best. We are increasing our offerings of unique home decor at prices you will not believe. Our new collection of lamps, prints, linens, and decorative accessories will help you redesign your living space in high style. So, come by the shop often and see all the new treasures we have just for you!! Visit our website http://www.evelynsjewelry.com/ to see the beginning of our new collections.

IT'S A GREAT NEW YEAR AT EVELYN'S

Where did the year go? Can you believe it is already a new year? This new year will be an exciting and mysterious time as our country prepares for a new president and recover from the recession we have been suffering through. We would like to thank you, our valued customers, for helping us have a wonderful Christmas season! As the "big box" stores were struggling, you helped us have a profitable season. Many of you told us you were shopping locally and we are greatly appreciative for your generosity! We hope you were excited with our unique collections of personalized gifts that you gave and received. Our monogrammed jewelry was our star this Christmas. If you didn't receive any for Christmas, don't fret. Valentine's Day is soon approaching and cupid will be listening for hints! We are going to market soon to find many treasures to bring back to the shop. We try to continue offering you the most unique and trend forward gifts, decorative accessories, and jewelry that you will have to have! Future posts will show you our unique finds. Spring will bring a new look for the shop and several special events you will want to attend. Check our website http://evelynsjewelry.com/ for upcoming shop events. If there is ever anything you are searching for, let us know. We will try our best to find it for you.

Everyone at Evelyn's hopes you will have a blessed new year!

READY, SET, IT'S CHRISTMAS!

I can't believe the Christmas season is already here! It seems like yesterday I was planting hostas in my yard, and now the freezing temperature has caused them to sleep for the winter. We have had a wonderful Fall season at the shop. With all the doom and gloom the news has reported on our economy, I would have thought business would have been brisk at best. But, we have had a wonderful season! I think all the unique products we found at the markets were the reason we continue to do so well. And, this Christmas season we have outdone ourselves with some of the most unique gifts you have got to have! You will love our new monogrammed bags in 3 great fabrics. Our new monogrammed jewelry is already one of our best sellers this season. We have added new hammered monogrammed sterling silver pendants, new copper jewelry, and new additions to our popular natural stone jewelry. But, because there is such a demand for these new monogrammed items, our deadline to order is December 10. Please order early so you will not be disappointed!
We all hope to see you in the shop soon. And bring your shopping lists and let us help you solve all your shopping dilemmas! Merry Christmas!!!

Fall Is Here!

Fall is here! It is hard to believe that October is here and we have less than 3 months before Christmas! While most people are thinking Halloween and maybe Thanksgiving, we are working in full force for Christmas. Our Christmas open house will be Sunday, November 9th, and there are a lot of things to get done before we preview our wonderful Christmas collections. Last week we took many pictures for our Open House postcard (some people actually collect these). This year Christmas is full of glitter and bright fun things! At a time when the economy is not the best, we hope that all the glitter will bring about nostalgia of past good times and hope for a bright future. We have a wonderful collection of seasonal decor, fabulous jewels, and delicious gourmet treats that you are going to love! Be sure to mark November 9th on your calendar for this very special day.

We are also very excited to begin featuring our shop on YouTube. See our 1st video by going to http://www.youtube.com/ and type in "fall has arrived at Evelyn's." We sure hope you like this new feature and stay tuned for more great videos!!

DESIGNING A MEMORABLE OPEN HOUSE EVENT

Many people ask me what goes in to making an open house event successful. We start planning for our fall and Christmas open houses in January when we go to market in Atlanta. We buy the majority of our Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas seasonal merchandise in January after many months of research on upcoming trends. Most of the seasonal merchandise arrives in June and we mark and sort all of these treasures in to our themes of the seasons. Out come the floor plan grids and each item is determined where its home will be. We close the shop the day before the open house event and work long hours rearranging the fixtures, unpacking all our treasures, and placing these special pieces in their pre-planned homes. It gets frustrating at times trying to get it all pulled together, but some how it does finally works out to our plans. Our greatest pleasure is seeing all the smiles and excitement our customers have when the come in the shop on open house day. We hope you love our new changes as much as we do! Many of you want to know what it looks like behind our papered shop windows on set up day, so I am showing you some pictures of before, during, and after we have changed the shop. Enjoy and come see us at the shop soon!

GETTING OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES

Recently I was watering my hanging baskets and out flew a baby bird who definitely was out of its comfort zone. Still with fuzz on top of its head, this baby bird flew a couple of feet and found safe haven in my sago palm. It definitely seemed out of its comfort zone. The entire time I watched, this little bird kept its mouth open and constantly looked all over for its mother. I think we all get caught up in our own comfort zones and have a hard time changing. With the challenging economy, I have been pushed out of my comfort zone with the shop and have decided to make some much needed changes. I have tended to hang on to slow performing product lines just because they did well in the past. So, with much trepidation, I have decided to make some large and not-s0-large changes with the shop. Slowly you will start to see new products and new product categories arrive in our shop. We will sadly saw farewell to some of our past favorites, but are excited for the new. Our most noticeable changes will occur with our Fall/Halloween open house on September 6. I hope you will come out and have fun with us as we introduce you to the New Evelyn's!

Summer Market

Every July we pack up our bags and head to Atlanta for the International Home and Gift Market. Everyone tells us it must be so much fun to buy for the shop. I will admit that we do have a good time, but it is also a lot of work. Our schedule is to meet our bus every morning at 8:30am and stay at market until 6:00pm everyday for 4 days. We are on our feet shopping for great new products to bring back to the shop for an exciting fall and winter season. We meet many retailers and share our stories with them. We are able to learn from each other and come back to the shop refreshed and ready for a new season. We met a couple of women from Texas who operated a Christmas shop from September through January that do over 1 million in business. Now that is impressive! They shared with us many wonderful ideas. We also met with editors from O Home, Instyle, and Country Living magazines. They shared with us the process they go through to choose items for their magazines. Like us, they do a lot of leg work and research before they feature a product in their magazines. We did a lot of research before market and have added many new vendors we are sure you will love! We are bringing in a lot of seasonal merchandise that will bring a big smile to your face. This year we will be having our first ever HALLOWEEN AND FALL OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, September 6, 9:00-5:00. We hope you will join us for the fun!